دانلود کتاب The Politics of Food in Mexico: State Power and Social Mobilization

This book compares a broad range of food policy reforms in Mexico, in order to shed light on the broader problem of the determinants of state capacity. In a thorough examination of the politics of policy reform from both above and below since Mexico's revolution, the book concentrates on the SAM experiment (Sistema Alimentario Mexicano, Mexican Food System), a brief but massive subsidy programme designed to channel oil boom revenues towards national food self-sufficiency. Although most of the SAM's food policy reform efforts failed to reach the poorest people, the extensive village store network proved to be an important exception. For the first time in Mexico, an anti-poverty programme encouraged its beneficiaries to hold the bureaucrats accountable. This encouraged autonomous mobilization from below, changing the contours of peasant politics. The dynamic interaction between state reformists and autonomous social movements weakened Mexico's entrenched authoritarian elites.

This book is a rare analysis of reform dynamics which gives due attention to struggles occurring both within society and the state. Such a task requires appreciation of the interactive nature of policy-making and Fox does just this in his account of the Mexican Food System (SAM) of 1980-1982. The author offers an innovative theoretical approach for understanding state-society relations and illustrates the rela- tional character of state power through a detailed and nuanced analysis of the various parts of the SAM reform package.